Safety First! Buckle Up and Follow the Rules

Regardless of how experienced you are in driving, it is important to receive a proper driver’s education to understand the rules and traffic laws of the road. Bad habits while driving, such as eating, texting, and making phone calls, are forms of distracted and dangerous driving. Drivers should know the different signs that appear on the road to know what to expect and how to act or react when driving. For example, there are two different types of stop signs, one for all ways of traffic and another that gives the right of way to cross traffic. A driver must know and differentiate between the signals and signs a flagger makes when there is a work zone ahead. There is a lot of information a driver must know and be aware of, and such information can help reduce the number of driving-related deaths each year. I believe people should be tested on their driving knowledge every few years to ensure they know the traffic rules and laws. People need to take defensive driving courses to learn safe techniques. By taking these courses, a person will be able to know what to anticipate on the road, and how to react to a variety of hazards. I also believe cars should have a function to recognize whether a person is intoxicated and prevent them from driving if they are. There are laws in place to prevent reckless and drunk driving, but there is more to be done to reduce the dangers on the road.

I experienced two car accidents when I was younger. My mother was driving on both occasions. The first occurred when she was driving her car with my brother and me in the back passenger seats to the grocery store. Her car was first in the left lane of traffic in front of the pedestrian crosswalk. The traffic light had turned green, and before her car traveled halfway across the intersection, another car had sped past the red light from the left. My mother had to step on the car’s brakes to prevent it from crashing into the vehicle ahead. Some of the cars behind her had rear-ended one another. The woman who had run the red light had claimed she did not notice the color of the light because the setting sun had blocked her sight of the traffic light. If she were to slow down and take notice of the cars in the opposite lanes of traffic or lowered the sun visor, she would have never run the red light. The second occurrence was when my mother was reversing out of a driveway. A person had turned their car onto the street and did not notice that her car was reversing. They crashed into the side of her car, but they were not traveling fast enough to harm any of us. The driver was texting while driving and was not fully aware of their surroundings. This is an example of distracted driving, and it could have led to a more serious accident if the driver was traveling any faster.

I also nearly experienced and witnessed car accidents in my final years of high school. During my junior year in high school, I almost experienced an accident while my father was driving home in the rain. My father was not speeding while turning off an exit, but the car still managed to hydroplane. If it were to travel faster, the car would have flipped over into the other exit lane below. Luckily, the car only scraped the side of the cement barrier, and the right side of the car briefly lifted off the ground before going back down. In my senior year of high school, my father drove me to school, and we witnessed an accident on the highway. The driver was speeding and quickly switching lanes before they lost control of their car. They crashed into the guardrail, almost flipping into the opposite lanes of traffic. Then, the car slowly switched lanes onto the side of the road. No one else was affected in the incident as everyone reacted timely and was able to slow down. The person should not have been switching lanes so quickly, and it is a good thing the accident was not any worse. In my opinion, I would say my father is a good driver in some situations, but there are other situations where he is reckless and aggressive. There were times when he would drive around or drive too closely behind other vehicles if they were moving too slow. He sometimes lacks patience when driving, and he would prefer to arrive at a destination without, in his words, “unnecessary” delays. He often complains about how other people drive, especially in a place like New York City where traffic is frequently bumper to bumper. In driver’s education, it is advised that there should be some distance between a driver’s car and the car in front of them to allow for time to react to any situation.

Witnessing, experiencing, and hearing about car accidents have affected how I feel about driving and whether I want to receive a driver’s license. It has given me a lot of anxiety and endless worry as many things could happen on the road. Despite this, the idea of planning my day around how I will travel to any destination is unappealing. I like being in control of how my day goes and would be frustrated if my day does not progress as planned. I have recently begun taking driving lessons and receiving a driver’s education. I have found that it is important to have a full understanding of traffic rules and regulations. I constantly refer back to the driver’s manual to ensure I know the rules of the road. Along with the driver’s manual, I have also taken a five-hour pre-licensing course to review those rules and have a visual of how to drive in certain conditions. To be a better and safer driver, I need to follow the traffic rules and laws, know how to drive defensively, and know how to drive in special conditions. A person should not be driving while tired, distracted, or intoxicated as they could endanger themselves and those around them with their lack of awareness.